Chapter 88 Huitong Design Company
Fang Zhuo was originally wondering if he was just unlucky and had just managed to snag a job posting with a relatively low salary.
But a tattooed man next to him had just received the order and immediately spit out a mouthful of saliva, and most people in the room didn't look too happy.
The heavily tattooed man, with his large muscles and dark skin, grabbed the bespectacled girl who had been the first to pick out job postings and snatched the list from her hand.
The job posting the woman with glasses managed to snatch was for an assistant clerk, with a meager monthly salary of only 295 ghost money.
For a moment, no one spoke in the room. Everyone gradually realized that these job postings were all pretty much the same, and the salary range was pretty much what they were looking for.
Silence fell over the surroundings, and a loud, static-filled announcement came from the old-fashioned loudspeaker on the table.
"Welcome to Huitong Design Company. I am the Human Resources Manager of our company. Since more than half of the employees here are recent graduates, I will now briefly introduce the company's regulations."
The voice coming from the loudspeaker was weak and listless, as if its energy had been drained, with a kind of beauty that came from someone who had been working for ten years.
"Before joining the company, Huitong Design will give everyone an advance of one day's wages, and provide all meals and accommodation. Apart from that, all other expenses must be paid by the individual."
"Salary is settled weekly. The salary in the job posting is for reference only and will be adjusted based on individual output."
"The dormitory is on the fourth floor of Huitong Building, and the office is on the third floor. Once you enter the building, you are not allowed to leave without permission. If you can stay for three weeks without being fired, you will be considered to have passed the test."
"You can use ghost money to buy items in third-party stores. In addition to your fixed salary, live streaming has been automatically started for you. The live streaming rewards you receive will be settled in real time."
After the routine announcement was read out, the loudspeaker went silent, and at the same time, the door lock clicked crisply, unlocking the sealed room.
Most people in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Although the pay was lower than expected, the dungeon didn't seem too difficult, and there was even a helpful beginner's guide.
Unseen by them, the group's live stream was simultaneously launched in the platform's newbie zone, earning their first stream.
[Is it Huitong Design Company again?]
[That old HR manager at Huitong Design Company is obsessed with money; can we please remove this kind of high-mortality dungeon from the beginner dungeon list?]
[Hilarious! Please don't expel them! I love seeing newbies so fearless when they first join. Just thinking about them dying half an hour later makes me happy.]
[+1, I really admire their current rebellious attitude; the contrast is the most appealing. A day's wage is only fourteen or fifteen ghost coins; they don't really think that's enough to live on, do they?^^]
The casino has just opened this session of the betting game; betting is now open.
The girl with glasses and a ponytail looks quite clever, and it seems like she's not a first-timer in this dungeon; she's guaranteed to clear it.
The moment the door was unlocked, the woman with glasses rushed out, not even bothering to close it. She ran down the stairs at breakneck speed and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
Her actions caught everyone off guard, and it was only then that people noticed the time, realizing that it was already 7:10.
According to the map printed on the job posting, this room is 1,500 meters away from Huitong Building. I have to run there at full speed to barely make it on time.
The remaining dozen or so people realized something was wrong and immediately rushed out of the room.
Fang Zhuo slowly followed the group down the stairs.
He wasn't particularly worried. Firstly, his stamina was already at its maximum, so he would definitely be able to run there faster than the others. Secondly, Fu Zhaoyu had mentioned to him before that the dungeon boss also loved money.
If a problem can be solved with money, then it's not a problem.
Although Huitong Design Company only gave him sixteen ghost coins in advance for his salary, he still had more than 40 billion in his hands.
When he went downstairs, he found that the streets and buildings outside were relatively normal, but there were not many pedestrians on the road. Most of the pedestrians were in a hurry and were wrapped up tightly in hoodies and long coats.
There aren't many high-rise buildings, and the overall level of development looks like that of a second-tier city on Earth.
He also has the task of building a safe house. Since it would be difficult to find another opportunity to leave once he joined the company, he decided to conduct a survey of this instance city before "starting work".
He hailed a taxi, and just as the blue taxi turned around, his arm was nudged by the muscular, tattooed man from before.
"Bro, where did you get the money for a taxi? You must be a seasoned player."
"Out of kindness, I still want to remind you that a taxi ride from here to the company will cost at least six ghost coins. I suggest you save your money, as you'll need it for many more things later."
Fang Zhuo stood with his arms crossed, ignoring the other person.
Many people shared his thoughts. This tattooed man didn't run with the main group, presumably because he was very confident in his running speed.
"Oh right, do you need the copy information? I have price lists from various shops here. I got a copy when I was out there. One copy costs one ghost coin, a fair price."
Fang Zhuo wasn't very familiar with the prices in the dungeon world. He casually gave the tattooed man a few coins, and the man immediately sent him an electronic document as if he had found a treasure.
"Tell me, what did you do wrong before?"
The tattooed man struck up a conversation with him in a friendly manner: "Don't be so aloof, handsome. The people who get thrown into the infinite dungeon are all hardened criminals from various stars. Otherwise, what good person would come to a place like this for no reason?"
"Let me start by saying that I stole a military starship from a military base, casually killed more than a dozen prison guards, and was imprisoned after the prison break failed... Sigh, I almost succeeded, my luck is terrible."
"I can tell from your demeanor that you're an economic criminal. It's not easy for economic criminals to get such severe sentences. How much have you embezzled? Or did you work in the finance department of the Great Star Thief Group before?"
"Brother, do you need any other resources? I also have some of the latest TV series, movies, and novels with infinite dungeons that I smuggled in. You can't get these things inside. They're three ghost coins a set, at cost price."
Seeing that he hadn't received a reply, the tattooed man, thoroughly disappointed, sneered and revealed his true intentions:
"Hey bro, can I hitch a ride?"
Fang Zhuo opened the taxi door, maintaining a polite smile:
"Sorry, I'm not going directly to the company. I plan to be late on the first day back at work. Are you sure you want to come along?"
The tattooed man gaped in shock.
How could anyone dare to challenge company rules on the very first day of the dungeon? Is this person related to the dungeon boss? Or are they just plain tired of living?
What's even more puzzling is that this handsome guy got into the taxi without hesitation, even though he knew it was expensive. Wasn't that a bit too brave?
Sitting in the taxi, Fang Zhuo drove around the dungeon world for a while and found that there were not many developed areas in this small city. The central area was mostly office buildings and the streets were sparsely populated.
Most of these office buildings are standalone structures, with each company's large sign printed on the top floor. He guessed that the interiors of these buildings were replicas of companies like Huitong Design.
It seems that these types of dungeons are not isolated from each other, but are scattered across a large map. However, the information sent by the tattooed man does not involve these aspects. It seems that players are forced to run and clock in as soon as they enter a dungeon, and are quickly ejected after clearing it. Therefore, most people lack an understanding of the overall world.
As the taxis gradually drove towards the suburbs, small apartment buildings and detached houses began to appear in the surrounding area, and more and more pedestrians wearing long trench coats began to stroll on the street.
There were even taller residential buildings in the distance. Fang Zhuo raised his hand to look at his watch. It was already eight o'clock in the morning, and he was half an hour late.
Even knowing that money is absolutely effective, he didn't intend to test the boss's patience or be too late.
When I got back to the bottom of the Huitong Building, the taxi meter had already accumulated thirty-five ghost coins.
His entire face was hidden under a hat and mask. The taxi driver's eyes were an unnatural crimson, and his ten fingers on the steering wheel were dry and cracked. He seemed to be just waiting for the passenger to say that he couldn't afford the fare, and then he would swallow the person in front of him whole.
The edges of the mask gradually began to seep out foul-smelling saliva.
Fang Zhuo skillfully attached the bracelet to the POS machine, and the machine announced in a system voice: "Beep, fifty ghost coins have been paid."
Although his eyes were so red they could barely express his emotions, the driver could not hide the surprise on his face.
Fang Zhuo then asked, "How many similar cities are there here in total?"
The driver swallowed hard and made a gesture of eighty-nine with his cracked fingers.
Fang Zhuo thanked him politely, then turned and strode upstairs.
It's been a long time since I swiped my card to spend such a small amount of money; it feels a bit unfamiliar.
He walked to the entrance of Huitong Company on the third floor. The environment here was as old as the 20th century on Earth, with cracked walls and a stuffy, poorly ventilated place.
The cramped space of just over 50 square meters was crammed with more than a dozen metal tables and chairs. The computers on the tables were old-fashioned desktop computers with plastic casings, the original white casings of which had long since turned yellow due to the passage of time.
One of the players, perhaps having drawn the cleaning job, was numbly putting the deceased players into body bags one by one.
The group that had entered the instance with Fang Zhuo an hour earlier now looked terrified, working hard amidst the fear of losing their lives at any moment.
Fang Zhuo looked around. Judging from the number of people working at their desks, it seemed that six people had already become the victims of the dungeon boss because they failed to clock in.
Right in the middle of the two rows of workstations stood a tall, fat man with a large belly, covered in sweat and emitting a stench similar to that of a white man's body odor. This must be the dungeon boss.
Three pairs of eyes were visible on the fat man's belly, which was not covered by cloth. They were blinking and staring at all the employees in all directions.
The moment Fang Zhuo stepped into the company, the loudspeaker on the desk ruthlessly broadcast the announcement: "One hour late, violation of company rules, dismissal!"
Some of the players around looked apprehensive, and the cleaning player at the door reflexively vomited onto the freshly cleaned tiles.
The loudspeaker continued emotionlessly, "Damaging the company environment will result in a 20% performance penalty!"
As the fat man approached step by step, Fang Zhuo continued to observe the surrounding environment.
When the two were less than a meter apart, Fang Zhuo finally spoke casually:
"I see you're missing an air conditioner. What brand do you like? I can give you one. Oh, and shouldn't you upgrade your computer too?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
